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Public Health's Smoke-Free Workplaces/Restaurants and Bars Activities In the past ten years, Bloomington Public Health has conducted many activities to promote voluntary adoption of smoke-free restaurant and bar policies and helped residents locate smoke- free eating establishments. These activities included: . In 1993, the Smoke-Free Eating EstablishmentRecognition Program was launched by the Bloomington Heart & Health Program, Advisory Board of Health, and City of Bloomington. Restaurants were recognized during a City Council meeting, with the mayor and the Advisory Board of Health chair presenting the owner or manager with a special recognition plaque. In 1994, approximately 30 percent of Bloomington restaurants were smoke-free. In recent years the recognition plaque has been presented directly to the restaurant's manager/owner. * Bloomington's Smoke-Free Dining Guide is updated periodically and is available on the City's Web site, at www.tricitv�artners.org and in print form. * Consultation and educational materials on how to implement a smoke-free policy have been provided to interested restaurants and workplaces. � Bloomington's smoke-free restaurants have been promoted through stories and press releases in the Sun Current, City newsletters, cable TV, paid advertising, and other print pieces. + Surveys and focus groups with restaurant owners and managers have been conducted to determine smoking status and level of interest in adopting a smoke-free policy. Current Smoking Status of Bloomington Workplaces/Restaurants and Bars There is no Bloomington-specificdata on the percent of workplaces that are smoke-free. In a 1999 survey, approximatelytwo-thirds (64 percent) of Minnesota's employed population reported that their workplace had an indoor no-smoking policy. The remaining one-third indicated that they either did not have an official workplace policy or had a policy that did not completely eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.14 Data from the 2000 U.S. Census was analyzed for trends within smoke-free workplace policies for different occupational groups. In 1999, over three-fourths of white collar workers were covered by smoke-free policies, while less than half (43 percent) of the nation's 6.6 million food preparation and service occupation workers benefited from this protection.15 According to Bloomington's Licensing Department and the Health Division: * There are over 250 establishmentsthat serve food and are open to the public, including restaurants, barlrestaurants, coffee shops, food court vendors, and fast food places. + Eighty-three of these food establishments have a liquor, wine, and/or beer license. + Excluding the Mall of America (MOA), 68 of Bloomington's restaurants have been identified as smoke-free. (See Appendix A: Smoke-free Dining Guide for Bloomington.) Many of these are fast food chain restaurants such as McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, Wendy's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken and have multiple locations in Bloomington. Coffee shops (e.g., Starbucks, Caribou) are generally smoke-free. f Five private clubs allow smoking. These are American Legion Post 550, Minnesota Valley Country Club, Knights of Columbus, VFW Post 1296, and Eagles 3208. ; In the Mall of America, 8 restaurants, several coffee shops (e.g., Caribou, Cinnabon), and three food courts with shared dining are smoke-free. ■ Eleven MOA restaurants or barlrestaurantsallow smoking. E�